Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so i hear there is only 3 darts that are a danger to people. i know one is the terribils but what are the others.And how poisinous are all the other species? i were to put my hands in my mouth after touching them would i get sick? or sick for a long time? ..or die? haha fill me in.

Unless they're recently harvested from the wild, you don't have to worry. The toxins in the skin of dart frogs is diet related. In the wild, they eat millipedes and ants which they harvest toxins from. Since, in captivity, they get fruit flies and crickets, they have no toxins.

In the wild, frogs in the genus Phyllobates (with terribilis being most toxic) tend to be the most toxic species, then Dendrobates.

can dendrobates kill a person?

You might enjoy reading POISON FROGS, W. Schmidt, F.W. Henkel, Professional Breeders Series. It is worth purchasing, or perhaps your local library will have it, or can obtain it for you. There is a short, but comprehensive chapter on Dendrobatid toxins. It is also a pretty good general "how to" book on Dendrobatids.

The poisonous Phyllobates species caught in nature do contain enough toxins in their skin glands to kill a man, but these toxins have to enter the body either through injuries such as broken skin, or through minor injuries in digestive tract. They don't pass through unbroken skin. The risk of poisoning with wild caught animals is low, provided they are not handled carelessly and not unduly molested. And as mentioned, they tend to lose their toxins in captivity, and captive bred darts are not toxic.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
6 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
6 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris